Bangkok--14 Jun--Fitch Ratings
Fitch Ratings-Bangkok/Singapore- 13 June 2011: Fitch Ratings (Thailand) Limited has upgraded the National Long-Term rating on Mercedes-Benz (Thailand) Limited’s (MBTh) THB2.0bn guaranteed debentures due 2012 to ‘AAA(tha) from ‘AA+(tha)’. The Outlook is Stable.
The rating action follows the upgrade of the Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (LT FC IDR) of Daimler AG (Daimler), MBTh’s guarantor and its parent, to ‘A-’ from ‘BBB+’. The Outlook on Daimler’s IDR is also Stable. (For more details about the rating upgrade on Daimler, please refer to “Fitch Upgrades Daimler and Volkswagen to ‘A-’ ”, dated 10 June 2011 and available on www.fitchratings.com.)
The debentures’ rating is based entirely on a full, irrevocable and unconditional guarantee provided by Daimler. Daimler’s LT FC IDR of ‘A-’ is equal to Thailand’s sovereign Long-Term Local Currency IDR (LT LC IDR). Fitch notes that any rating action that results in Daimler’s LT FC IDR falling below to that of Thailand sovereign’s LT LC IDR will affect the debentures’ National rating. Investors should note that a one-notch change in an International rating could result in a more than one notch change in a National rating.
MBTh is 99.99% owned by Daimler. Since 2000, MBTh has been responsible for the import and wholesale functions of Mercedes-Benz vehicles for distribution in Thailand. It also provides hire-purchase and leasing services through its wholly-owned leasing subsidiary, Mercedes-Benz Leasing (Thailand) Company Limited.
Contacts:
Primary Analyst
Ekapan Prompraphant
Analyst
+66 2655 4753
Fitch Ratings (Thailand) Limited
Wave Place 13th Fl.
Wireless Road, Lumpini, Patumwan
Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Secondary Analyst
Lertchai Kochareonrattanakul
Senior Director
+66 2655 4760
Committee Chairperson
Kalai Pillay
Senior Director
+65 6796 7221
Note to Editors: Fitch’s National ratings provide a relative measure of creditworthiness for rated entities in countries with relatively low international sovereign ratings and where there is demand for such ratings. The best risk within a country is rated ‘AAA’ and other credits are rated only relative to this risk. National ratings are designed for use mainly by local investors in local markets and are signified by the addition of an identifier for the country concerned, such as ‘AAA(tha)’ for National ratings in Thailand. Specific letter grades are not therefore internationally comparable.
Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com.
Applicable criteria, 'Corporate Rating Methodology', dated 16 August 2010, and ‘National Ratings - Methodology Update’, dated December 18, 2006 are available at www.fitchratings.com.
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